


In The Blink Of An Eye

by kristen999



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Drama, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Suspense, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 20:48:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20936510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kristen999/pseuds/kristen999
Summary: All it took was a split second for it to all go wrong.





	In The Blink Of An Eye

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Esteefee for her quick beta :)

* * *

As far as raids went, this was one Steve would like to forget. He balled up his fists to settle his shaking hands. Shit. That had been close. Blue and red lights flashed in the background as he walked away from the scene. Standing near a dumpster, he waited for the adrenaline rush to fade.

His muscles tensed at the sound approaching footfalls, his shoulders easing only when he recognized Danny approaching. 

“Hey,” Steve said.

“Fourteen years old.” Danny’s voice shook. “That was the oldest.”

“I know, man.” Steve had handcuffed the teen. 

“I swear to…” Danny started pacing, his shoes scuffing the ground. “Whoever is arming children with guns…they better hide, Steven. In the biggest, deepest hole.”

Steve watched HPD finish driving the last of the kids away. The place was still crawling with squad cars as CSU closed-off the scene. Eight young teens had been armed to the teeth and waiting inside the warehouse. Five-O had gone into the raid thinking they were about to face fierce resistance from a drug-gang. 

Steve thought of Nahele. He should call him tonight. 

Danny kicked a near-by trashcan. “Who arms children? Who tells them to shoot at cops?”

“The same scum that use them as human shields.” A pain churned inside Steve’s stomach. No. Yemen had been a lifetime ago. He cleared his throat. “How are the others?”

“About to notice we walked away from the scene.” Danny released a shuddering breath. “I’m glad Lou is on the Big Island with his family.”

Steve scanned for Tani and Junior. Tani had been especially affected; her rifle still remained on the ground from when she’d lowered it during the stand-off. 

Junior…well, he looked as shaken as Steve. He wondered if tonight had triggered long buried memories.

“We need to finish canvassing the scene,” Steve said while he watched shadows move across the alley wall. “I’ll ask Duke to call Missing Persons. There have to be families looking for those children.”

“Are we going to talk about how we were set-up to commit a massacre?”

Steve’s eyes were drawn to a slow-moving silhouette. “We didn’t though.”

“By some miracle.”

“Because of training.” Steve walked toward the shadow.

“If this is where you lecture about trigger control…Steve? Where the hell are you going?”

All the hair along his arms stood on end. Steve pulled out his SIG and followed the moving shadow behind the dumpster. Something banged against the other side.

He spotted a tuft of hair —then the barrel of 9 Mil. “Freeze, Five-O!”

Instinct took over. Steve trained his weapon center-mass. Gazing up, he spotted a dirt-smudged face and a set of terrified eyes. His pulse raced. The kid couldn't be older than ten. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Steve kept his demeanor calm while Danny shifted behind him. The kid tensed at the movement, his eyes darting between both of them. 

They needed to deescalate the situation. “I’m Steve, what’s your name?”

“K-kael.”

“Okay, Kael. You’re not in trouble. I promise.”

The kid’s hands shook with the weight of the Glock; the weapon massive between his smaller fingers. 

“I’m going to put my gun down,” Steve said, slowly pointing his SIG toward the ground. “Everything is going to be okay.” 

Kael’s arms trembled and a wet stain spread along the inside of his pants. He glanced down eyes wide, a choked sound escaping his throat. 

“It’s all right, Kael. It’s fine,” Steve coaxed. “Just, please put the gun down.”

Tears ran down Kael’s face. “O-okay,” he sniffed, lowering the Glock.

A patrol car sped out of the parking-lot, turning on its siren as it went. Kael flinched at the sudden noise.

Something struck Steve in the sternum—the force of the impact lifting him off his feet. He landed on his back, stunned.

Steve gasped as he tried drawing air into his lungs; it was as if someone was standing on top of his chest, the pain an unforgiving weight pressing into him. He began clawing at the Velcro tabs to his vest.

“Hey, hey, take it easy,” a voice yelled. It was Danny, crouching beside him. 

Steve heard crying in the distance. 

“T-the…k-kid…” Steve craned his neck in search of the boy.

“The kid’s fine. Tani is taking him into custody. His hands jerked and the weapon discharged.”

Danny looked Steve over, eyes scanning him from head to toe as he pulled his leather gloves off with his teeth.

God. The pressure was worsening. Sound intensified all around him. Shouts for help. Random footfalls. Heavy breathing. Were those rasps his or Danny’s?

“I’ve call a bus. ETA, five minutes.”

Steve jerked his head at the sound of Junior’s voice. 

“Hey, sir.” Junior knelt at his left side.

“Help me remove his vest.” Danny’s voice was tight, but steady. 

Junior began undoing the Velcro straps to Steve’s body armor, peeling away both flaps.

“It’s that better?” Danny asked as he began prodding Steve’s torso with his hands, finger skimming his ribs. 

Steve made a wheezing sound, spurring Danny’s movements as he lifted up Steve’s t-shirt. “I don’t see any holes.”

“No, sign of blood,” Junior said.

The ping-ponging voices were making Steve dizzy. He squeezed his eyes closed; tried to quiet his panic, concentrating on conserving oxygen, imagining that he was free-diving and hadn’t reached the surface yet. 

“I’ve secured the kid,” Tani said. It was hard to pinpoint her position. 

The kid. Kael was safe. Good. But what about the other children? The roadside-bomb had taken out one side of the market. He’d yelled at Freddie when the ambush occurred. 

“How can I help?” 

What was Tani doing on this op?

“We’re going to give him room to breathe. You hear that, Steven? Just breathe. You’ve been through this before. Feels like you got hit by a baseball bat to the chest. I bet you did this for fun in SEAL school, huh?”

Steve opened his eyes in confusion and stared at Danny. “Wasn't I wear’n...p-plates…?” 

Junior touched his shoulder. “Sir, you’re not wearing combat armor.”

Danny sucked in a breath. “Steve. Do you know where you are?”

Yemen. At least that’s what he tried to say, but it came out as grunt. 

“You’re on Oahu.” Danny peered down at him in concern. “Do you remember?”

Steve nodded. Right. Oahu. He didn’t understand why his mind had gone to the desert. All he knew was that a vice was squeezing his chest and he needed to release the pressure. He tried pressing down at the pain, but his arms flailed. 

“Easy, easy...” Danny grabbed his hands, enfolding them with his own, warm and reassuring. “You’re going to be fine, I promise.”

“How far away was he when he was hit?” Junior asked.

“Maybe a little more than an arm’s length.”

“That’s not good.” Tani sounded scared. 

As a SEAL, Steve had taken slugs to the vest before but never so close to the shooter. Kevlar was designed to trap the kinetic energy of bullets, spreading the energy across the whole vest. At the range he was hit, all the energy had nowhere else to go except right into Steve’s chest.

“Okay, babe, we’re going to help you sit up, all right?”

“Should we do that?” Tani asked. “I mean he’s got at least one broken rib?”

“Yeah, but he needs a clear airway.” Danny shifted around, getting down to his haunches. “Now, Steve, I know you like to make things more complicated than they need to be, but let’s skip the dramatics, okay?”

He’d like to, he really would. Steve might as well be sucking through a straw; every ragged breath a battle. 

He was pulled and maneuvered around, and _fuuuuck,_ that hurt, his vision graying on the edges, a vice crushing his bones, pressing on his lungs. Steve gasped.

“Whoa, whoa, maybe we shouldn’t do that.”

“No, it’s fine. He’s fine...he better be.”

“And if he has internal injuries?”

Too many people were talking all around him. Too much anxiety and worry. Steve leaned his head against the wall. 

“Breathing is still the most important thing right now, not that a SEAL should have an issue with something that fundamental, right, Steven?”

He honed in on Danny’s voice, at the way his breath ghosted over Steve’s face as he looked him in the eyes. “Okay, that’s great, you’re doing awesome.”

But Steve wasn’t. He fought to inhale, his body trembled. 

“ETA on that damn bus?”

“Three minutes.”

“All right, hey, hey, look at me.” 

Steve looked at Danny, chest hitching, Danny’s hands iron grips around Steve’s biceps. 

“You’re doing fine. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but you are.”

Steve nodded. 

“Yeah, that’s good. Real good. Now, just give me a second; I’m going to remove your gun belt.”

Tactical belt, Steve wanted to remind him. Danny knew that, knew why Steve wore one, but it took more weight off Steve’s body. Gave Danny something to do instead of watching Steve struggle. 

Removing it didn’t help. Focus, Steve had to focus; he was getting oxygen into his lungs, just not enough. Steve could work with that. He had to. 

Steve dug his fingers into his palms as sweat ran down his face. Danny kept a running mantra of assurances, rubbing his hand up and down Steve’s arm. 

“The HPD Ninja Warrior competition is next month,” Tani starting talking. Rambling. “I’ve already got money on our team, so you better not screw up my bet. I mean, there’s a new round of rookies applying, so Junes and I will make up for you and Danny. But, Homicide’s got that new transfer, that old Army guy. I heard he’s been bragging about beating your time from last week during practice. He called you an old salty dog with no bite. Is that bad?”

Junior snorted. “I’d like to see him say that to McGarrett in his face.”

“Old Salty Dog? Did you hear that, babe? You gonna let that stand?”

Steve chuckled, but it only made more black dots appear in his vision. He could do this, hold his breath for long periods of time, push away the fear and the pain.

Tani kept talking about random things, her voice growing further away. 

“Hey, don’t do that!”

A pain pierced his earlobe, rousing him. Steve’s eyes fluttered open, Danny’s face swimming into view. “I’ll pinch the other ear if you try to take another nap.”

But his eyes were so damn heavy.

“Make a hole!” Junior yelled.

Danny squeezed Steve’s wrist. “The EMTs are here.”

Steve focused on the air going in and out through his nose, while two EMTs began moving in and out of his field of vision. One of them wrapped a BP cuff around his arm and took Steve’s pulse while the other spoke to Danny.

“May we see the vest, Detective?”

“Yeah, here it is.”

“Any perforation to the armor?”

“No.”

“Caliber bullet?”

“Glock. 9 mil.”

“Yeah, vest’s got a pretty big dent. Hey Jace, take a look.”

The guy beside Steve whistled. “Hey, Commander, I’m Jason. I’m going to examine you for broken bones. It’s probably going to hurt. I’ll try to be quick.” 

True to his word, Jason prodded him, palpating each rib. Steve yelped, flinching at the tender spot.

Someone knelt beside him. “Hi Commander, I’m Amy. On a scale of one to ten, could you tell me your pain level?”

“Six.”

“Do you know today’s date?”

“The 5th.”

Jason inserted an IV into Steve’s arm. 

“And where you are?”

“On the ground.”

She chuckled. “I’m going to put this oxygen mask over your mouth and nose. Help you breathe a little better.” Amy nodded at her partner. “What do we got?”

“Fourth rib is crunchy, chest wall is stable.” 

Steve zoned out on the rest of the assessment, but he caught all the important words: Hypotensive. Tachycardia. Dyspnea.

Amy appeared in his line of sight again. “I’m going to cut away your shirt and listen to your lungs.”

It wasn’t like he had a choice. 

“This might be cold.”

Steve shivered when the bell of a stethoscope pressed against his skin. 

“Jesus,” Tani said. “That is a massive bruise.”

“We’ve got decreased breath sounds. But no signs of collapsed lung.”

That was good. His lungs weren’t broken. 

“We’re going to put EKG pads over your chest, Commander.”

Sure. Go ahead. 

“Almost done. Now we’re going to give you something for the pain then transport you to Kings.”

Steve nodded or thought he did. He wasn’t sure. His face flushed with warmth and the pain in his chest receded, making him feel like he was bobbing over ocean waves. 

“On a count of three, we’re going to help you up onto the gurney. We’ll keep you sitting up to keep you comfortable.”

Each EMT took him by the elbows and helped him stand. His vision swam and before his legs gave out; but they were quick and efficient, strapping in a seated position within seconds. 

“I’ll meet you there, babe. Okay?”

Steve didn’t have the breath to speak. His lips felt fat and heavy, so he squeezed Danny’s hand before being wheeled into the rig.

* * *

It was morning before Steve was released from the ER and afternoon by the time he fell asleep on a haze of pain killers at home. Wandering on autopilot, he walked into his bathroom to take a piss and brush his teeth. He might have rubbed his toothbrush over the same section for too long. 

Finishing up his business, he stared at his reflection in the mirror, at the day’s worth of salt and pepper stubble and bloodshot eyes. He exhaled with a wince.

Grabbing the hem of his t-shirt, he lifted it up all the way and stared at the enormous contusion covering most of his chest. There was an angry red welt the size of a quarter where the bullet struck the vest, the surrounding skin a massive swirl of reds and purples that reached down toward his naval.

“Hey, what are you doing up?”

Steve dropped his shirt and turned toward Danny, who was standing just outside the doorway. “I had to hit the head.”

“Okay, well, you’re done, now get back into bed.”

“I’m not tired.”

Danny shook his head and began emphasizing every word with a hand gesture “Your voice sounds like Grizzly Adams, you’re tired, your body is tired, let it rest.”

“But I’m hungry.” 

“Then I’ll bring you lunch.”

“Danny, I’m fine.” Steve regretted his choice of words, back peddling before Danny could get upset at Steve downplaying things. “I’m sore as hell, but I’m going to be okay.”

“You have a bruised lung.” Danny gently ran a finger over the front of Steve’s t-shirt. “Aka, it was bleeding inside there.”

Steve captured his fingers. “It’s not now.”

“It was.”

“Yes, it was.” Steve would not reject Danny’s fear, but it was over. He’d been released from the hospital. 

“A kid, Steven. A kid almost…”

“It was an accident. Just a stupid accident.”

Danny caressed Steve’s cheeks, then stepped closer, nuzzling his neck with his nose. “The doctor said you needed the next two weeks off to heal.”

“And I’ll take them. I promise.”

Danny wrapped his arms around Steve’s shoulders, and pulled him close, head buried against Steve’s collarbone. Steve dipped his head down and held Danny against him, taking in the moment, immersed in love and comfort. He could bask in this all day.

Eddie started barking and Steve pulled away with a sigh. “I need to feed him.”

“Tani and Junior will take care of him.”

“They’re downstairs?”

“Yeah, filling your empty fridge so we don’t have to go grocery shopping.”

Steve rubbed at his eyes. He had no idea what time it was; everyone else was fully dressed and running around doing errands for him. “How’s the kid?”

“There was a missing person’s report on him. He’s getting reunited with his parents tomorrow.”

“Good. That’s good.”

“Now you. Bed.” Danny began shooing him away.

“What about food and a movie instead?”

“Steve.”

“It’s resting. I’ll be in a recliner.”

“And the stairs?”

The doc had warned of decreased lung capacity for a little while. Steve would probably get winded just climbing a single flight. 

“That’s why I got you.” Steve slung his arm around Danny’s shoulders. “Perfect height.”

“I am not a human crutch.”

“What’s for lunch?”

Danny grumbled under his breath but did not shift away from crutching duties. “Soup and grilled cheese.”

Steve wouldn’t even make fun of that combo. Matzo balls were in his future for a while. “Sounds perfect.”

“Okay, take it easy, we’re going to do this nice and slow.”

“I can do slow.”

“You do not know the definition of slow. But come on, Old Salty Dog, before the kids think they can make out on the sofa or something.”

Steve put the brakes on their trek. “You’ve just used your only opportunity to call me that.”

Danny snorted, loud and incredulous. “I’ve waited nine years for payback, Steven. Like I’m ever going to run out of excuses to use your new nickname. Get used to it.” 

Once Steve got back to full strength, he was going to track down that grunt in Homicide and smash his record in the next HPD race. In the meantime, he hobbled next to Danny, thinking how he could sneak Eddie some of his matzo. If they made it down the stairs in the next month. 

“And I’m picking out the movie,” Danny said. “We’re not watching John Wick again.”

Leaning on Danny, feeling the warmth and strength of his body against his own, Steve was pretty sure he’d fall asleep the minute he relaxed on the recliner. But he was perfectly all right with that.

* * *

Fin-

Muse: Let's write this from Steve's POV. It'll be fun.  
Me: Um, what?

:)  
Written for Whumptober2019. Prompt: Breathless


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